Interview for the newspaper “SCHOOLCHILDREN”

When I began the creative commonwealth with the newspaper “Schoolboys”, I have been surprised very much and have been pleased by the fact, that the favorite newspaper is basically made and drawn by the children, and they write the stories and verses, think out riddles and puzzle themselves. The edition is their assistant and coordinator of actions. Frankly speaking, where can such thing could be met? Any schoolboy can take part in creation of the newspaper and at once find a wide reader's audience. (As it is a pity, that during my childhood there wasn’t anything similar! You see then it would be possible to be published much earlier). Certainly, someone from the today's young authors of the “Schoolboys” becomes the present professional, getting the experience by being typed and finding the reliance of the forces! The magnificent newspaper using a huge popularity among children is not only in our republic, but also has turned out far behind its limits.
So and this interview is unusual by the fact that it is not taken by the correspondent with a microphone, but by you children yourselves, as I answer those questions which were asked in your letters.

Let's begin from the very beginning.

When and where were you born? (Denisova Sveta, country Asanowo, Comsomolsky region.)

- I was born in the city of Norilsk on September 16, 1970, but in half a year the parents brought me to Cheboksary, where I am still living. So I consider myself to be a citizen of Cheboksary.

Where shall we put an accent in your surname? (Cozlowa Nadya from Russian Sorms, Alicovsky r.)

- Where you want. It has no a basically meaning, though I put an accent on the first syllable.

At what school did you study? (Lyosha Vasiliew, Cheboksary)

- I finished a usual Cheboksary secondary school number twenty four, and then entered the Chuvash State university named after I.N.Uliyanow at the history department, where I got a trade of the teacher. And still combining a literary activity with teaching where I work in grammar school №2.

How old were you, when you had been engaged in the literature, and was it difficult to work over your first book? How did your first story appear? (Galya Ulyandy from c.Old Atach, Crasnochetaysky r.)

- Generally I tried to write at the earliest age, wrote the adventure stories, but never thought, that subsequently I should become a real writer. Being the student of the first course I took part in the competition on the best script for the adventure film, which was arranged by the film-studio Lenfilm. It was my first test for durability. I wrote about hundreds of sheets during three weeks. Then I sent the script to Leningrad, and I haven’t heart about it since. Most of all I was afflicted with the fact that it was the single copy, except a handwritten version. Already later I found out, that the hand-written variants presently are not considered at all (except the “Schoolboys”). So most likely my script was sent to a basket. After that I wasn’t engaged in the prose some years. I only wrote verses. To begin to write
Again I was forced by the children . In 1991 I worked in a pioneer camp as a guide. Once my boys, when I came to their bedroom, they asked me to tell something interesting and terrible. I told some stories, which came up to my mind at once. They were liked by the children and by myself too. And when I returned to the city, I told my friend Sergey Orlov about it. It should be written down! ” - told Sergey, and we together (together always to write) began to write a more cheerful story under the headline“ At night of the fool moon ”, from which the readers of the newspaper “ the Schoolboys for more senior ” recently could get acquainted. The most difficult thing was to finish it up to the end, and when it was turned out at last I understood how to be a writer. I became what I wanted to be. And I put before myself the following task: to write a real large novel. To tell the truth, I began its realization only in 1993. At that period of time everybody were crazy about Angelica and Marianna. I told my friend who was a historian by profession Sergey Lejnin by name: let's write something similar. And we wrote the novel “The slave girl from island of fLesbos”. The action was developing in the Ancient world and the main heroine was the charming girl Actis. The novel turned out large the whole seven hundred pages, and I could not stop any more. My friends became grown ups and began to be engaged in serious businesses, and I, probably, didn’t grow up really, because something beautiful and magic was desirable for me. But where could it be found? Only in the childhood. And I decided to return there. Once I took in hands a pencil, opened a notebook and imagined a perfect picture: the ancient city on a hill, and at its centre tower is a white tower with a gold roof. In the tower the malicious wizard lives and he operates the fantastic country. So the Country of the Stopped time has appeared. And to this country the children from our world came. Let it be a girl and boy. The boy was stolen by the swallows, and the girl began to search for him. How many times did it already happen! But that is a fairy tale, that everything can take place again. Then the science fictions “Katerino the Knight” and “Prince of a White tower” were born.

How was it possible to you to issue your products? (Semenov Kolya from c. Sosnovo, Mariall republic)

- For the writer it is very important not only to write feature books, but also to publish them and to show your creation to the people.It is not always possible at once to print everything thatt has written. So, for example, the story “At night of the full moon” laid in the table three years, before it was printed in 1994 in the magazine the “ View of Chuvashiya ”. “Little wolf Vanya” was written in ninety six, and was printed only in two-thousand, the novels “Slave girl from an island Lesbos” and “Hospital of first Aid” waited for the turn more then one year. So many barriers, expectations and disappointments are the writers way. However not everything was sad in my destiny. Perhaps, on the contrary, I can consider myself lucky, because the children's stories “Katerino the Knight” and “Prince of a White tower” as soon as the were printed they were accepted by the Moscow publishing house “Armada” (by the way, at the end of the ninetieth it was one of the largest in Russia), and were put into the plan. And everything began with seeing the announcement in the newspaper the “Book review”, where theis publishing house notified, that it studied any manuscripts. I sent to Moscow the fairy tales at once, and less then in a month, I received the positive answer. I am still now working with this publishing house, in which already fifteen books have been issued. When these two books were sent to the public, they were liked by the children very much (in a very popular children's magazine the“Bear” bright color comics were created on their heroes in some numbers), that according to the numerous requests I wrote five more books about “the Country of the Stopped time”. They are: “Christian Thirteenth”, “Page of the Black queen”, “Lord of goblins”, “the Successor of Wizard” and “ Last fight ”. And in all these books the favorite heroes of the children took place : Katya and Jenya, Christian the Thirteenth of sorts Brave, Arian from a Green wood and, certainly, a little troll Drul. And it turned out, that I indeed became a writer, and not a simple but a children's writer.

Wtat is your most favorite creation? (Nastya Novicova, Moscow)

- Certainly, “Katerino the Knight”, “Prince of a White tower” and “Little wolf Vanya”! The story “At night of the fool moon”, you see is especially dear to me. And the history and adventure novel “Slave girl from an island Lesbos” was a real literary university for me.

What about your work now? (Gleb Mironow, Kazan)

- Now I am doing a very interesting work. According to the order of the same Moscow publishing house, only now it refers to the "Alfa-book" I have written the continuation of the book, very popular and favorite by children, “ Hobbit, and there or back ”, which was written a long time ago, already in 1937 by the English writer John Ronald Roual Tolkien. It was liked both by young and even quite adult readers, that all of them required the writers continuation. And Tolkien has written the continuation: “Lord of rings ” - three thick, thick books, but s they appeared only in twenty years , and were addressed for some reason only to adult readers. And instead of cheerful Bilbo Beggins there was very serious Frodo, his nephew. To read and to understand “Lord of rings”, it is necessary to be very serious and adult yourself. And children continuation by Tolkien were not made. And this task was assigned to me. And I began to write about hobbit Bilbo,that his friend wizard Gandalf came and told, that the daughter of Smog Vennidetta had woken up after a long-term hibernation and had sworn to kill everyone, who had killed her father, and the first among them was is a hobbit. And Bilbo with Gandalf set off to travel and to search for a magic stone of an Eye of a dragon, which could rescue them from dragons revenge. Dizzy adventures were whirling the hobbit and the wizard over the whole Midlands. The work carried me away, that I wrote one book, then the second, and then the third. They sold my books also in book shops. They are: “ Hobbit and Gandalf ”, “ Hobbit and Saruman”, “ Hobbit and the Ring". In the same publishing house send three books about the captain Krasnobaew “the Leader of the flies” and “the General Crusoe” and " the New hero of a Galaxy " were sent. By the way, first, who got acquainted with this remarkable and cheerful captain, were the readers of the “Schoolboys”. And towards the advice of the composer Gregory Gladkow I began to create audio books. Soon audio thebooks "Katerino the Knight", "Prince of a White tower ", "the Leader of the flies ", "the General Crusoe", in my own performance will be on sale.

Write, please, about your family! (Dinara Burchakly from with. Shygyrdany)

- I got acquainted with the future wife in an ordinary secondary school of Cheboksary, where came to work at once after graduating from university as a teacher of history. She also worked there as a teacher, teaching physics and computer science. We felt in love with each other and in one year got married. All this time she was a devoted friend and a helper in my literary work,. reprinting on the machine all my first books
herself.
Seven years later our daughter was born and she was named Katya. Now she already has grown up, and I notice in her character the feature of the main heroine “Katerino the Knight”with surprise. She is also courageous... And most of all she likes to read my books.

I received many questions concerning my products.

Why does the story “At night of the fool moon” have a sad end? (Galya Ulyandy from country Old Atagy)

- We were sorry for the main hero with Sergey Orlov too ,but that is a genre tradition we followed while creating this story, and we didn’t want to break it..

Tell, please, Dmitriy, how did the idea of writing the story “Little wolf Vanya” come to your mind? Could, in the childhood you be a little wolf? And may be you are the wolf now? (Olya Platonova from country Bottom Panklei)

- Even if I am a wolf, I am a kind wolf, because I haven’t eaten anybody in my life. I think I am more like a dog, because I was born in a year under the same name. And the idea to write the story came rather unexpectedly. After the fairy tales about “Katerino the knight” I would like to write something very serious and sad. One boy Vanya by name was the example for me as I had many problems with him at the summer camp, where I worked. All this is described in the story. And suddenly the problem arose itself, and what it would be, if he and I were bitten by Beowulf? The imagination of mine began to run high, I undertook the work, and the story “Little wolf Vanya” appeared.

What about your last book? (Vasya Solomkin, St. Petersburg)

It is "the Cool Newcomer", a fantastic novel, in which the action occurs on a unknown planet, where the main hero Sergey Strelnikow who is the student of the medical faculty is deserted by his destiny. The fellow has a problem. He is in love with his r classmate Natasha, but can not get a positive answer from her. Also it happens to them to be together with her in the other world with him. In this world Sergey has so many advantages s and talents that it is impossible to stay different for him. So, it is possible to say that this novel is about love.

Well, our interview also has approached to the end. I wish my best regards to all the readers of the “Schoolboys”, both younger, and grown-up.